Happy New Year! So many people have been talking about New Year's Resolutions, myself included. 2012 was the biggest success in resolutions, for me, thus far! It was actually the very first time I had ever kept a resolution for longer than a few weeks. I had 3 resolutions and I kept them all...for the ENTIRE year! My number one resolution was to quit Diet Coke. Some of you who know me may have already heard about my Diet Coke story before, but for those of you who haven't, here it is in a nutshell:
For years, my drink of choice was Diet Coke. I absolutely loved everything about it. My favorite kind was from the fountain. There was nothing like ordering a Diet Coke from McDonald's and having it be freezing cold in all that ice. The bubbles were so fresh and I loved drinking it from a straw (I must sound crazy)! What started off, so long ago, being a special treat and having a soda every now and then, soon became an unexpected addiction! It was all I ever wanted. Not only did I want it, but I needed it to keep myself awake and going during the day. I don't drink coffee so this was my energy that I depended on daily. I also convinced myself that it was like medicine. If it didn't feel good, Diet Coke made me better. I found myself drinking it so much that I didn't drink any water at all. Days would go by and I could honestly not recall my last sip of water. It was when I started waking up in the middle of the night and opening my fridge for a nice cold swig of Diet Coke, that I thought, "I don't think this is normal." I justified it to the end. It couldn't be that bad, there's no calories in it! It could be worse. I could be addicted to something much more unhealthy like cigarettes, alcohol or drugs. I had the attitude that I knew I was addicted and I didn't care! I then started to hear things about aspartame, the artificial sweetener that makes Diet Coke sugar free. I'd do research on it and when I read something I didn't like, I'd stop reading it! Over time, I had done some juicing and fasting, in which I did not drink any Diet Coke. I suffered from awful headaches and body aches.I thought, in those times, that I had overcome this weird addiction. So after a few weeks of not having it, I'd allow myself to have a glass every once in a while. That would always turn into, a glass of it everyday and then just back to drinking only Diet Coke. As the end of 2011 approached, it was on my heart to, once again, try and kick this awful habit. There was a difference in the other times before though; this time I truly felt that God was putting it on my heart. One day I sat in my living room and prayed to Him, asking Him to guide me into a healthier way of life. I felt like I hadn't been treating my body very good. I had just had a baby 3 months prior, and I felt gross! I wanted a new beginning. It was December 21st, I believe, when I felt God saying to me, "give up Diet Coke for ME, and do it now. Do not wait for the new year." Not really what I wanted to hear. I wanted my last couple of weeks to have my favorite thing! I truly enjoyed drinking it so much that I felt I was going to be in mourning over it (I'm a little dramatic)! That day, I stopped. When we pray for something, we don't ask God to answer our prayers in a couple of weeks, or when He feels like it. We are human and we expect immediate response! Why would I ever make God wait for something that He asks from me? I had to obey... which I'm usually not so good at, but this time I really felt in me that I had to. Over a year later and I haven't had a single sip of Diet Coke! I honestly can say that I don't think I will ever drink it again. I definitely miss it. I still want it all the time, but I feel so much better now! I don't have a guilty conscience about what I'm putting into my body. I've resorted to tea and water... mostly soda water. I still will treat myself to a soda every now and then, but it's usually Dr. Pepper or Root Beer. I feel so thankful that I was able to kick it. Also quite grateful that the addiction that I had, was just a glimpse into the reality of this world of much uglier addictions. I can't imagine the bondage that others find themselves in when struggling to give something up like drugs, alcohol, or even food. I learned a lot from this experience and it's brought me closer to God.
My other resolutions were, to lose all my baby weight and keep it off (success!) and to recycle (success!) since I was super bad at that before. Holy cow, one whole year and I kept THREE resolutions! Now I'm behind. I would like to be posting another success story in a year from now. I have a few in mind, but nothing that I've committed to yet. The next few days I'm hoping to have come up with a solid resolution!
ONE MORE THING!
I really don't want to take down our Christmas Tree yet! How long is too long to keep up Christmas decor? My sister is visiting with her family for a second Christmas in a couple of weeks. Hoping to convince my husband to keep it up till then! We shall see :)
